Reang refugees queue up to cast their votes for the Mizoram state assembly elections in Kanchanpur, North Tripura.

A team of officials from Mizoram’s election department has started
enumeration exercise in Reang refugee camps in Kanchanpur of North
Tripura. State government officials said the team arrived on Thursday
evening and expected to complete the work in five days.

Seven makeshift camps with over thirty thousand Reang or Bru evacuees
who fled Mizoram in September 1997 to escape ethnic violence allegedly
spearheaded by the Mizos. The original number swelled up to 40 thousand,
but now lessened after scores returned home to respond to
rehabilitation package announced by the Union Home ministry and Mizoram
government.

“The purpose of visit of Mizoram election officials is to prepare fresh
electoral rolls in the camps in view of ensuing assembly elections in
Mizoram. For over a decade the Election Commission of India is making
special arrangements to ensure franchise of eligible refugee voters
within the camps”, a North Tripura district official said on Friday.

The refugees are reluctant to end precarious camp life unless Mizoram
government concedes to their demands like regional council, recognition
of their dialect and security, besides a comprehensive settlement
package. Mizoram government summarily turned down all the demands except
central government aided rehabilitation plan.

July 2013 was the last set deadline to complete repatriation of the
refugees, but this unlikely to happen with only few days left for such
exercise.

Numerous initiatives of the central government, National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC), human rights groups and Tripura government failed to
solve the refugee stalemate so far.

Tripura government officials have extended cooperation to the
enumeration exercise of Mizoram election department. Elaborate security
arrangements have been made as some extremist elements are active in the
camps.

Few thousand refugee voters of the camps are essentially important for
the political parties in contest in a small state like Mizoram. Top
brass of political parties even charter chopper to visit the camp
inmates in election times to woo them, but the main issue of their
peaceful repatriation and rehabilitation remain unresolved.